Will it have an effect? It certainly looks a neat device – a sort of 21st century digital version of a Meccano set. It also looks good in that it encourages children to understand the hardware within a computer. But if children want to learn programming, I do note that the BBC piece mentions a cheap Android tablet as a possible competitor, and it’s worth noting that there’s no reason why one couldn’t learn the principles of coding a game of snake using an app for a tablet device.